International disputes: none
Climate: tropical along coast, semiarid in far north; three seasons - warm and dry (November to March), hot and dry (March to May), hot and wet (June to October)
Terrain: mostly flat to undulating plains; mountains in northwest
Natural resources: petroleum, diamonds, manganese, iron ore, cobalt, bauxite, copper
Land use: arable land: 9% permanent crops: 4% meadows and pastures: 9% forest and woodland: 26% other: 52%
Irrigated land: 620 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: deforestation (most of the country's forests - once
the largest in West Africa - have been cleared by the timber
industry); water pollution from sewage and industrial and agricultural
effluents
natural hazards: coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; during
the rainy season torrential flooding is possible
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping,
Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
Timber 83; signed, but not ratified - Desertification
@Cote D'ivoire:People
Population: 14,791,257 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 48% (female 3,506,147; male 3,534,751)
15-64 years: 50% (female 3,619,759; male 3,820,999)
65 years and over: 2% (female 142,366; male 167,235) (July 1995 est.)